Allenhead

[Jim MacPherson]

View attachment 3250

Just found this in my 'archive' provenance unknown but isn't it lovely? )

Somewhere in Dad's archive is/was (can't find it at the moment but as it was on AditNow it existed) a slide of a rather well-timbered and dry-looking Crankey Level which rather implies BSC de-watered to below all four wheels although that surprises me slightly so I do wonder if Top Level and Crankey Level names were transposed at some time. I also wonder if the 'horse track' was a continuation of Fawside's Horse Level?

From what I remember Post Office shaft wasn't entered too many times and I can't recall a mention of those rather intriguing steps down to the third wheel, mind you I was a dissolute student type at the time.

Jim

 

[RogerB]

View attachment 3250

Just found this in my 'archive' provenance unknown but isn't it lovely? )

The Horse Track shown above isn't on the 1899 WB Lead Mines abandonmnet plan (to see the waterwheels view the previous BSC plan, which doesn't include the surface features:

 

[Underground Xplorer]

Probably. Around 30 years ago I spent a cautious half hour looking round the surface at Park Shops trying to find the shaft, but it must have been filled in. I haven't seen any reports of anyone gaining underground access to Stanhopeburn, so it must be impregnable.

There is an escape shaft you can go down in, but you'll need to be speaking with the landowner before you can consider that.

 

[RogerB]

There is an escape shaft you can go down in, but you'll need to be speaking with the landowner before you can consider that.

Is that Vipond's Shaft?

 

[Arther pencilgon]

There is an escape shaft you can go down in, but you'll need to be speaking with the landowner before you can consider that.

I thought it was just outside his land but I carnt recall so could be wrong

 

[Jim MacPherson]

Just to return to Allenheads and BSC adventure, the attachment is a photo my Dad took in the early 1970's of Crankey Level, with the rather memorable timbering and quite a good state of preservation. I had rather thought that the level might have been misnamed and was actually Top Level. However my brother is fairly sure there was at least one exploration down the Beaumont decline which got to the first significant level that BSC broke into which might have been Top Level, his recollection was that it didn't look like the pic, so perhaps BSC's dewatering did get, at least, to Crankey Level which would mean it got to below all four wheels. No pics of the bottom two wheels exists as far as we are aware so nothing to confirm the steps down to the third wheel as per Legendrider's excellent plan.

With the passage ot time it may be my brother and me are now unique in having been to the top wheels and are still scroffling about but there are at least the pics and I hope the slides they came from.

One other point to clarify, at the time BSC asked NCMRS to explore the deep, dank depths the access shaft used was called the 'Old' Post Office Shaft by us lot mainly because it was in the rear yard/garden of the old post office which we were allowed to use but it's called Gin Hill Shaft otherwise.

Jim

PS - N32 AN refers to Northumberland slide 32 and AN means it was on AditNow's database for all you callow youths out there.

 

[RogerB]

Just to return to Allenheads and BSC adventure, the attachment is a photo my Dad took in the early 1970's of Crankey Level, with the rather memorable timbering and quite a good state of preservation. I had rather thought that the level might have been misnamed and was actually Top Level. However my brother is fairly sure there was at least one exploration down the Beaumont decline which got to the first significant level that BSC broke into might have been Top Level, his recollection was that it didn't look like the pic, so perhaps BSC's dewatering did get, at least, to Crankey Level which would mean it got to below all four wheels. No pics of the bottom two wheels exists as far as we are aware so nothing to confirm the steps down to the third wheel as per Legendrider's excellent plan.

With the passage ot time it may be my brother and me are now unique in having been to the top wheels and are still scroffling about but there are at least the pics and I hope the slides they came from.

One other point to clarify, at the time BSC asked NCMRS to explore the deep, dank depths the access shaft was called the 'Old' Post Office Shaft mainly because it was in the rear yard/garden of the old post office which we were allowed to use but it's called Gin Hill Shaft otherwise.

Jim

Are you sure you aren't talking about Knopley Level?

 

[Jim MacPherson]

Are you sure you aren't talking about Knopley Level?

View attachment 3332

The simple answer is no I'm not sure and I suspect unless there are some other annotated photos someone else took it may remain moot.

The lower of the top two wheels, at least based on the various plans etc, would probably had access via Top Level and likewise the bottom of the lowest wheel seems to link to Crankey Level, my Dad was moderately punctilious about names so he may have been correct. Clearly the decline encountered Knopley Level which at least implies BSC had dewatered to below Crankey Level. Probably access to Knopley Level would have allowed use of the Horse Track to get back up to both of the higher levels and we did, at least once, explore some of the Horse Track using Fawside Level.

I'm not even aware of anyone writing any contemporaneous accounts of NCRMS trips for either the newletters or bulletins which is a bit of a shame if correct. (I gave most of my parents' copies of the bulletins to Killhope)

Jim

 

[Royfellows]

NCMRS, Northern Cave and Mine Research Society - I have a box of the 1960s newsletters and a bound 1970s.

 

[RogerB]

The simple answer is no I'm not sure and I suspect unless there are some other annotated photos someone else took it may remain moot.

The lower of the top two wheels, at least based on the various plans etc, would probably had access via Top Level and likewise the bottom of the lowest wheel seems to link to Crankey Level, my Dad was moderately punctilious about names so he may have been correct. Clearly the decline encountered Knopley Level which at least implies BSC had dewatered to below Crankey Level. Probably access to Knopley Level would have allowed use of the Horse Track to get back up to both of the higher levels and we did, at least once, explore some of the Horse Track using Fawside Level.

I'm not even aware of anyone writing any contemporaneous accounts of NCRMS trips for either the newletters or bulletins which is a bit of a shame if correct. (I gave most of my parents' copies of the bulletins to Killhope)

Jim

I found Crankey Level, but I am not convinced that BSC entered it or or its workings. The two plans that follow are of the same location, the first soley BSC activity, you can see where they encountered Top Level and Knopley Level, while the second superimposes their decline and workings on the old workings. This shows Crankey level, but the first one doesn't.

BSC's workings superimposed on WB's workings

Doesn't the fact that Knopley and Crankey levels are coloured the same on the WB plan suggest that they are one and the same?

 

[RogerB]

The simple answer is no I'm not sure and I suspect unless there are some other annotated photos someone else took it may remain moot.

The lower of the top two wheels, at least based on the various plans etc, would probably had access via Top Level and likewise the bottom of the lowest wheel seems to link to Crankey Level, my Dad was moderately punctilious about names so he may have been correct. Clearly the decline encountered Knopley Level which at least implies BSC had dewatered to below Crankey Level. Probably access to Knopley Level would have allowed use of the Horse Track to get back up to both of the higher levels and we did, at least once, explore some of the Horse Track using Fawside Level.

I'm not even aware of anyone writing any contemporaneous accounts of NCRMS trips for either the newletters or bulletins which is a bit of a shame if correct. (I gave most of my parents' copies of the bulletins to Killhope)

Jim

This one is a useful section to orientate which level is where. This is around New Whimsey Shaft and the green level is BSC's development towards Diana vein. I'll try to find out the name of the pink level at the bottom.

 

[Jim MacPherson]

While it's hardly categoric evidence one way or another Knopley and Crankey are at different horizons when they meet Ginhill Shaft and meet the Horse Track separately, on the 1856 (?) WB survey does seem to name them as separate levels at least once although at that location Crankey is uncoloured.

Probably need someone who is good at 3 dimensional chess, sadly I'm mediocre at normal chess and my spacial awareness is not as good as it used to be.

Jim

 

[RogerB]

While it's hardly categoric evidence one way or another Knopley and Crankey are at different horizons when they meet Ginhill Shaft and meet the Horse Track separately, on the 1856 (?) WB survey does seem to name them as separate levels at least once although at that location Crankey is uncoloured.

Probably need someone who is good at 3 dimensional chess, sadly I'm mediocre at normal chess and my spacial awareness is not as good as it used to be.

Jim

Hopefully this answers the question. Crankey level is to the west of Gin Hill shaft and Knopley level to the east. You may not be able to see this in detail but I shall magnify:



Around Gin Hill shaft. Note the pink level is Russels Drift:



Focus on Crankey and Knopley levels aroudn Gin Hill shaft. They were driven in differnt bearing beds, but Crankey doesn't extend past the Horse Track.



Focus on Knopley Shaft. Knopley level (yellow) rises to meet the BSC level (or rather the BSC level (green) driven back towards Gill Hill Shaft from their inclines (brown) encountered the rising Knopley level.

 

[Jim MacPherson]

Yes but?

If you look at plan ref. 21861083 Sheet Info 1 of 11 Part 2 of 4 as per 2nd entry below;

Mine Plan search results

mine-plans.bgs.ac.uk

Locate Gin Hill Shaft it does give a slightly different aspect, Knopley Level runs from the shaft eastwards at least as far as Knopley Shaft and probably further east while Crankey Level would appear to enter the plan at the far west near to Old Whimsey Shaft then follow a somewhat meandering route to Gin Hill and continue eastwards, stops being given a brownish colour near Madgeon's Cross Cut and continues past Knopley Shaft and onwards to the eastern end of the plan.

By the time I worked out which plan to look at my brain was getting a bit confused, It would be quite handy if BGS have an overview plan of all the Allenheads plans to help make sense of it all. Equally it would have been a good project for the proto- North Pennine Mine Research Group.

The OS map attached to Old Whimsey Shaft on Buddlepit Pit is quite useful .

Jim

 

[RogerB]

Yes but?

If you look at plan ref. 21861083 Sheet Info 1 of 11 Part 2 of 4 as per 2nd entry below;

Mine Plan search results

mine-plans.bgs.ac.uk

Locate Gin Hill Shaft it does give a slightly different aspect, Knopley Level runs from the shaft eastwards at least as far as Knopley Shaft and probably further east while Crankey Level would appear to enter the plan at the far west near to Old Whimsey Shaft then follow a somewhat meandering route to Gin Hill and continue eastwards, stops being given a brownish colour near Madgeon's Cross Cut and continues past Knopley Shaft and onwards to the eastern end of the plan.

By the time I worked out which plan to look at my brain was getting a bit confused, It would be quite handy if BGS have an overview plan of all the Allenheads plans to help make sense of it all. Equally it would have been a good project for the proto- North Pennine Mine Research Group.

The OS map attached to Old Whimsey Shaft on Buddlepit Pit is quite useful .

Jim

Well spotted, I wonder why its hatched? Perhaps it was abandoned by the around 1855 WB mine plans and had been forgotted about by the time of the 1899 plan which formed the basis of the 1981 BSC plan. You can see something similar in the plans for Burtree Pasture and the "old level in the Great Limestone" which appears on some plans and not the others.